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Despite lower overall revenue, defense giant Lockheed Martin Corp. easily topped Wall Street's profit expectations in the first quarter, the company said Tuesday. The nation's largest defense contractor earned $933 million, or $2.87 a share, in the January-to-March period — a 23 percent jump from the year-ago quarter. Revenue slipped nearly 4 percent to $10.7 billion over the year. Lockheed was boosted by its work on the next-generation F-35 fighter jet — part of which is built in Orlando — and other weapons developed in Central Florida. Sales rose by $50 million, for example, in its missile-guidance programs for Apache helicopters, F-16s and other combat...

Central Florida's largest high-tech players — Lockheed Martin Corp. and Harris Corp. — have a big chunk of their revenue prospects hitched to the often controversial, sometimes uneven flight path of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Over the past decade,...

The billion-dollar MyMagic+ technology initiative should start making a positive impact on Walt Disney Co.'s bottom line in its current fourth quarter, company executives told analysts Tuesday as they reported record third-quarter earnings.
Disney...

Lifted by a series of high-tech deals — from satellite technology to classified military systems — Harris Corp. posted a higher quarterly profit and level revenue on Tuesday, meeting the consensus Wall Street forecast for its fourth quarter.
The...

Buoyed by a streamlining that has shed 500 jobs in Central Florida, Harris Corp. said Tuesday it posted stronger than expected profit in its latest quarter, although revenue fell short of expectations.
The Melbourne-based high-tech company said it has...

Analysts found Orlando-based Darden Restaurants' expected first-quarter earnings surprisingly low, but they still had generally positive views of the company's performance.
Darden said last week it expects earnings per share of 78 cents. Several...

Memorial Day is in the rear-view mirror, but here's one more thing to remember:
American chief executives make too darn much money.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't reward a person for a job well done. But many CEOs now pull down so much more than...

Profits at Northeast Utilities fell in the second quarter due to ongoing merger costs and a charge relating to a federal review of how much money is reasonable for it and similar companies to earn from transmission projects.Lower electric sales due to...

After the stock market's phenomenal five-year bull run, finding undiscovered gems today is no easy feat. But we expect the earnings of the companies below to rise significantly faster than the 10.2-percent average annual earnings growth predicted for...

McDonald’s Corp.’s CEO once again said the world’s largest restaurant company needs more time to show improvements, after missing Wall Street’s quarterly sales and profit expectations for the second consecutive quarter as it struggles to keep up with more...

Target Corp. reduced its annual profit outlook Wednesday while reporting second-quarter earnings that plunged from a year earlier.
The earnings report showed the Minneapolis, Minn.-based company is still struggling to recover from a massive data...

Target Corp. lowered its second-quarter earnings forecast Tuesday and said expenses from its massive data breach probably would be close to $150 million.
Promotional discounts in U.S. stores and weaker-than-expected sales in Canada led to the lower...

Mondelez International Inc. now expects its 2014 sales to grow at a slower rate than the global snack industry, as the company holds firm on raising prices, even though some rivals have not followed its lead and the higher prices have lead to weaker sales...

Before closing Wednesday's trading down 14 percent at $59.21, shares of Walgreen plummeted as much as 16 percent after the Deerfield-based retailer revised its 2016 profit targets lower by $2 billion and said it would retain its corporate headquarters...

Pfizer Inc on Tuesday left investors guessing whether it would renew its pursuit of its British rival, AstraZeneca, but said it was considering other deals.The largest U.S. drug maker reported higher-than-expected second-quarter revenue, helped by growing...